Room heating apparatus and methods

ABSTRACT

A room heater comprising a housing having an lower opening at the bottom of the housing forming an inlet to admit a gas into the housing and an upper opening positioned above the lower opening forming an outlet through which the gas exits the housing, and a thermally sprayed heater that provides heat to the gas inside the housing. A method of fabricating the room heater is also disclosed.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a divisional application of U.S. patent applicationSer. No. 12/070,713, filed Feb. 20, 2008, and entitled Gas HeatingApparatus and Methods. Through the '713 application, this Applicationclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 60/902,291, filedFeb. 20, 2007, entitled Gas Heating Apparatus, and the benefit of U.S.Provisional Application No. 60/993,262, filed Sep. 11, 2007 entitledThermal Resistive Heater. Each of the foregoing applications isincorporated herein by reference in its entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Various devices are known for heating a gas, such as air, and gasheating devices have been employed for numerous industrial and domesticapplications, such as cooking and room heating, and in many appliancessuch as hair dryers and clothes dryers. In an electrical gas heater, anelectric heating element is energized and gas is caused to flow past theelement. The air may flow past the element either naturally or by beingforced by a blower or fan.

The most common electric heating element used today is a resistanceheating wire, such as a nickel chromium wire, that is wound into aheating coil. These wire-type heating elements are effective atgenerating heat, but frequently need to operate at very hightemperatures in order to provide sufficient heat to the surrounding gas.The flux of radiant heat of the heating element is proportional to thefourth power of its temperature, thus when the heating element isoperated at high temperatures (e.g., when it becomes red hot), theelement transfers heat predominantly by radiation. Gasses do not absorbradiative heat well, so much of this radiant energy does not heat thegas flowing past the element, but instead radiates to and heats up thesurrounding structures. The conventional wire-based electric heatingelements are therefore not very efficient in heating gas, due to thisradiant heat loss. Furthermore, the intense radiant heat generated bythe wire heating element can heat up surrounding structures to dangeroustemperatures, which can pose a safety risk. For example, in the case ofa clothes dryer, the radiant heat from the heating element can heatcomponents of the dryer that are accessible to users, which can resultin bums.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

A thermally sprayed gas heater comprises a gas flow apparatus thatpropels a gas through a housing; and a thermally sprayed heater bondedto a surface of the apparatus, the heater positioned to heat the gasflow in the housing.

A thermal spray coating process can be used to deposit coatings thatbehave as heaters when electrically energized. In a preferred method forfabricating a heating element using thermal spray, a material in powderor wire form is melted and formed into a flux of droplets that areaccelerated by means of a carrier gas towards the surface to be coated.The droplets impact the surface at high speed, sometimes supersonicspeed, and very quickly solidify into flat platelets. By traversing thespray apparatus over the surface, a substantially lamellar coatingcomprising these solidified platelets is formed.

In certain aspects, the bulk resistivity and thus the heat generatingcapability of the heater element can be raised by providing resistiveheating layer composed of an electrically conductive material and anelectrically insulating material, where the electrically insulatingmaterial has a higher electrical resistance than the electricallyconductive material. In certain embodiments, the material resistivity ofthe thermally sprayed heating layer is greater than about 10⁻⁴ Ω-cm.

According to another aspect, a heater system for a turbulent flow gasduct comprises a duct having a gas flow channel, the channel having ashaped surface providing turbulent gas flow in the channel, and athermally sprayed heater positioned to heat the gas flow in the channel

The thermally sprayed gas heaters of the invention possess a number ofadvantages compared to conventional heaters with wire heating elements.In the present invention, the heater coating is disposed over a surfaceof the gas heater where the gas has substantial opportunity to pick upheat generated by the heater coating. In preferred embodiments, the gasheater is configured to maximize the heat flux, Q, in the heat transferequation,

Q=hA(T ₁ −T ₀)

because A, the area of heat transfer, is generally much larger than inconventional gas heaters, and the heat transfer coefficient, h, istypically greater because the gas velocities are higher and boundarylayers are smaller.

In certain embodiments, the present gas heaters distribute their powerover a much larger area than a conventional heater with a wire heatingelement, thus the present heaters typically run cooler than wire heatersoperating at the same power. Furthermore, the heater coatings of theinvention can be bonded to the surface they cover, so that their poweris transmitted to the heat transfer surface with less impedance to heatflow. The heater coatings of the invention can also be made verythin—typically 0.030 inches or less—resulting in a very compact gasheating apparatus, particularly in relation to bulky wire-wound heaters.The present apparatus can also be less expensive to manufacture thanwire heaters because wire heaters often have complicated assembly issuesand/or require expensive specialized assembly machinery.

Additionally, the gas heaters of the present invention can transfertheir energy to the gas predominantly by forced convection, and byradiation to a much lesser extent, in contrast to wire heaters thatfrequently transmit more heat by radiation than by convection, and aretherefore much less efficient.

In preferred embodiments, the gas heater is designed to promoteturbulent flow of a gas, particularly at and around the heat transfersurface(s) of the heater. In fluid dynamics, turbulence or turbulentflow is a flow regime characterized by chaotic, stochastic propertychanges. This includes low momentum diffusion, high momentum convection,and rapid variation of pressure and velocity in space and time. Flowthat is not turbulent is called laminar flow. The Reynolds number iscommonly used to characterize whether flow conditions lead to laminar orturbulent flow. Laminar flow occurs at low Reynolds numbers, whereviscous forces are dominant, and is characterized by smooth, constantfluid motion, while turbulent flow occurs at high Reynolds numbers andis dominated by inertial forces, which tend to produce random eddies,vortices and other flow fluctuations. The Reynolds number is adimensionless parameter that depends on the mean velocity of the fluid,the flow geometry (characteristic length), and the kinematic fluidviscosity. The transition between laminar and turbulent flow is oftenindicated by a critical

Reynolds number (Re_(crit)), which depends on the exact flowconfiguration and must be determined experimentally. Within a certainrange around this point there is a region of gradual transition wherethe flow is neither fully laminar nor fully turbulent. For example,within circular pipes the critical Reynolds number is generally acceptedto be about 2300, where the Reynolds number is based on the pipediameter and the mean velocity v_(s) within the pipe, but Reynoldsnumbers between about 2000 to 3000 characterize a transitional rangewhere the flow can be partially laminar and partially turbulent.

According to another aspect, a method of forming a mica material for aheater assembly comprises mixing a mica material with an electricallyinsulating material to form a substrate for a heater assembly, thesubstrate having a thermal coefficient of expansion that is higher thanpure mica.

In further embodiments, a heater for a cooking appliance having a gasflow system comprises a cooking device having a gas flow device thatprovides a gas flow to a cavity to cook a material positioned in thecavity. A thermally sprayed heater heats the gas flow delivered to thecavity.

According to yet another aspect of the invention, a method for thermallyspraying a heater onto a substrate comprises providing a metallicmaterial having a core and an insulator within the core, and thermallyspraying the metallic material and the insulator onto a substrate toform a heater. The metallic material and the insulator can be thermallysprayed in the presence of a reaction gas that reacts with the metallicmaterial to produce an insulating reaction product. This can furtherboost the resistivity of the thermally sprayed heater layer.

In various other aspects, the present invention is directed to dryingappliances, baseboard heaters, and methods of fabricating variousappliances and devices for heating a gas using a thermally sprayedheater.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is an illustration of the microstructure of a thermally-sprayedheater layer in accordance with the invention;

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view of a layered heater element inaccordance with one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 2B is a plan view of the heater element of FIG. 2A;

FIGS. 3A and 3B illustrate a cutaway view of a duct gas heater withheating panels in accordance with one embodiment of the invention;

FIGS. 4A and 4B are perspective views of a gas heating system having aheater coating formed on a blower fan housing;

FIGS. 5A and 5B are perspective views of gas heating systems having aheater coating attached to the outlet of a blower;

FIGS. 6A and 6B are perspective views of a gas heating system having ablower and a heater coating formed on a perforated substrate positionedin the outlet stream of the blower;

FIGS. 7A and 7B are perspective views of a gas heating system having anaxial inlet blower and a heater coating formed on the blower fanhousing;

FIGS. 8A and 8B are perspective views of a gas heating system having ablower and a tubular hot gas outlet having vane elements with heatercoatings formed on the vane elements;

FIG. 9 is a perspective view of an oven having heater panels and ablower for convection heating;

FIG. 10 is a perspective view of a blower for a convection oven having aheater coating in accordance with one aspect of the invention;

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a clothes dryer having a heatercoating for providing a hot gas stream; and

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a baseboard room heating systemhaving a heater coating.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

Resistive heating elements can be formed by a thermal spray process.Thermal spray is a versatile technology for depositing coatings ofvarious materials, including metals and ceramics. It includes systemsthat use powder as feedstock (e.g., arc plasma, flame spray, and highvelocity oxy-fuel (HVOF) systems), systems that use wire as feedstock(e.g., arc wire, HVOF wire, and flame spray systems), and systems usingcombinations of the same.

Arc plasma spraying is a method for depositing materials on varioussubstrates. A DC electric arc creates an ionized gas (a plasma) that isused to spray molten powdered materials in a manner similar to sprayingpaint.

Arc wire spray systems function by melting the tips of two wires (e.g.,zinc, copper, aluminum, or other metal) and transporting the resultingmolten droplets by means of a carrier gas (e.g., compressed air) to thesurface to be coated. The wire feedstock is melted by an electric arcgenerated by a potential difference between the two wires.

In flame spray, a wire or powder feedstock is melted by means of acombustion flame, usually effected through ignition of gas mixtures ofoxygen and another gas (e.g., acetylene).

HVOF uses combustion gases (e.g., propane and oxygen) that are ignitedin a small chamber. The high combustion temperatures in the chambercause a concurrent rise in gas pressure that, in turn, generates a veryhigh speed effluent of gas from an orifice in the chamber. This hot,high speed gas is used to both melt a feedstock (e.g., wire, powder, orcombination thereof) and transport the molten droplets to the surface ofa substrate at speeds in the range of 330-1000 msec. Compressed gas(e.g., compressed air) is used to further accelerate the droplets andcool the HVOF apparatus.

Other systems, typically used for materials having a relatively lowmelting point, impart very high velocities to powder particles such thatthe particles are melted by conversion of kinetic energy as they impactthe substrate.

A thermal sprayed coating has a unique microstructure. During thedeposition process, each particle enters a gas stream, melts, and coolsto the solid form independent of the other particles. When particlesimpact the surface being coated, they impact (“splat”) as flattenedcircular platelets and solidify at high cooling rates. The coating isbuild up on the substrate by traversing the spray apparatus (gun)repeatedly over the substrate, building up layer by layer until thedesired thickness of coating has been achieved. Because the particlessolidify as splats, the resultant microstructure is substantiallylamellar, with the grains approximating circular platelets randomlystacked above the plane of the substrate.

If the starting materials for forming the resistive heating layerconsists of a blend of two or more different materials, the sprayedcoating microstructure can be a lamellar array of two or more kinds ofgrains. As shown in FIG. 1, the two different materials can be viewed asforming two interpenetrating, interconnected lattices with the degree ofinterconnection being a function of the proportion of material that ispresent. In particular, if one material happens to be electricallyinsulating, and one electrically conducting, then the conductivity (orresistivity) will depend on the degree of interconnectedness of theconducting material. In FIG. 1, the deposited microstructure includesthree discrete phases of different materials deposited on a substrate100. Materials A and B are insulator and conductor, respectively. Thecross-hatched phase represents additional material(s) that can beoptionally added for engineering purposes, such as adhesion, thermalexpansion, thermal conductivity, and emissivity. The dashed lineindicates the electrical current path through the lattice.

For a deposited coating to use a desired power level to generate aparticular amount of heat when a voltage is applied, the coatinggenerally must have a particular resistance that is determined by thedesired power level. The resistance, R, is calculated from the appliedvoltage, V, and the desired power level, P, as follows:

R=V ² /P

The resistance of the coating is a function of the geometry of thecoating.

Specifically, the resistance of the coating can be measured in terms ofthe electric current path length (L) the cross sectional area (A)through which the current passes, and the material resistivity (p) bythe following equation:

R=ρ·L/A

Therefore, to design a coating for a given power level and a givengeometry that will operate at a given voltage, one has only to determinethe resistivity of the material using the following equation:

ρ=R·A/L=V ² ·A(P·L)

A composition having the necessary resistivity, p, can be obtained, forexample, by using varying blends of conductors and insulators in thefeedstock until a coating having the necessary resistivity is foundempirically. According to another technique, as described in furtherdetail below, the resistivity can be controlled, at least in part, bycontrolling an amount of a chemical reaction that occurs between thefeedstock (such as a metal) and a gas that reacts with the feedstock(such as an ambient gas) during the deposition process.

That the resistivity is a controlled variable is significant because itrepresents an additional degree of freedom for the heater designer. Inmost situations, the resistivity of the heater material, e.g.,nickel-chromium, is a fixed value. In such an instance, the heaterdesigner must arrange the heater geometry (L and A) to obtain thedesired power. For example, if it is desired to heat a tube by windingnickel-chromium wire around it, the designer must choose the correctdiameter wire for A, the cross sectional area through which the electriccurrent must pass, and the spacing of the windings for L, the total pathlength of the electric current.

Thermally-sprayed coatings that behave as electrical heaters can becomposed of any electrically conducting material, but it is generallyadvantageous to chose materials that possess high electricalresistivity. This allows generation of power with high voltages andlower currents, preferably commonly used voltages such as 120 V or 240V. It can be even more advantageous to boost the resistivity of heatercoatings greater than the typical value of common materials, e.g.nickel-chromium, by adding insulating components, such as metal oxides,to the thermally-sprayed coating layer. This has the effect of allowingthe design of heater coatings with compact dimensions, in particularshorter current paths, and making them eminently practical for use in avariety of applications.

According to one aspect of the invention, a heater coating deposited bythermal spray comprises an electrically conductive material and anelectrically insulating material, the electrically insulating materialhaving a higher electrical resistance than the electrically conductivematerial, such that the bulk resistivity (p) of the heater coating israised relative to the electrically conductive material. In certainembodiments, the bulk resistivity is raised by a factor of approximately10¹ or more. In other embodiments, the bulk resistivity is raised by afactor of about 10¹ to about 10³ above the resitivity of theelectrically conductive material. According to certain embodiments, thecontent of the insulating material(s) in the heater coating comprises atleast about 40% by volume, and in a preferred embodiment, between about40-80% by volume.

Examples of materials that can be used to form an electricallyconductive component in a thermally-sprayed heater coating include,without limitation, carbides such as silicon carbide or boron carbide,borides, silicides such as molybdenum disilicide or tungsten disilicide,and oxides such as lanthanum chromate or tin oxide which haveelectroconducting properties that are appropriate for the technology.For the insulating material, oxides are very good in the application,particularly Al₂O₃, which is refractory, insulating, and inexpensive.Aluminum nitride and mullite are also suitable as insulating materials.

Metallic component feedstocks can also be used to form the electricallyconductive component of the heater coating, and in particular metalliccomponents that are capable of forming an oxide, carbide, nitride and/orboride by reaction with a gas. Exemplary metallic components include,without limitation, transition metals such as titanium (Ti), vanadium(V), cobalt (Co), nickel (Ni), and transition metal alloys; highlyreactive metals such as magnesium (Mg), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (HO, andaluminum (Al); refractory metals such as tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo),and tantalum (Ta); metal composites such as aluminum/aluminum oxide andcobalt/tungsten carbide; and metalloids such as silicon (Si). Thesemetallic components typically have a resistivity in the range of1-100×10⁻⁸ Ω·m. During the coating process (e.g., thermal spraying), afeedstock (e.g., powder, wire, or solid bar) of the metallic componentis melted to produce droplets and exposed to a reaction gas containingoxygen, nitrogen, carbon, and/or boron. This exposure allows the moltenmetallic component to react with the gas to produce an oxide, nitride,carbide, or boride derivative, or combination thereof, over at least aportion of the droplet.

The nature of the reacted metallic component is dependent on the amountand nature of the gas used in the deposition. For example, use of pureoxygen results in an oxide of the metallic component. In addition, amixture of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide results in a mixture ofoxide, nitride, and carbide. The exact proportion of each depends onintrinsic properties of the metallic component and on the proportion ofoxygen, nitrogen, and carbon in the gas. The resistivity of the layersproduced by the methods herein range from 500-50,000×10⁻⁸ Ω·m.

Exemplary species of oxide include TiO₂, TiO, ZrO₂, V₂O₅, V₂O₃, V₂O₄,CoO, CO₂O₃, CoO₂, CO₃O₄, NiO, MgO, HfO₂, Al₂O₃, WO₃, WO₂, MoO₃, MoO₂,Ta₂O₅, TaO₂, and SiO₂.

Examples of nitrides include TiN, VN, Ni₃N, Mg₃N₂, ZrN, MN, and Si₃N₄.Exemplary carbides include TiC, VC, MgC₂, Mg₂ C₃, HfC, Al₄C₃, WC, Mo₂C,TaC, and SiC. Exemplary borides include TiB, TiB₂, VB₂, Ni₂B, Ni₃B,AlB₂, TaB, TaB₂, SiB, and ZrB₂. Other oxides, nitrides, carbides, andborides are known by those skilled in the art.

In order to obtain oxides, nitrides, carbides, or borides of a metalliccomponent, the gas that is reacted with the component must containoxygen, nitrogen, carbon and/or boron. Exemplary gases include, forexample, oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, boron trichloride, ammonia,methane, and diborane.

During the thermal spray process, when the molten droplets of themetallic feed react with ambient gas present in the flux stream, thecomposition of the coating differs from that of the feedstock. Thedroplets can obtain, for example, a surface coating of the reactionproduct (e.g., an oxide, nitride, carbide, and/or boride derivative ofthe metallic component). Some droplets can react completely, whileothers can retain a large fraction of free metal, or can remainun-reacted. The resulting microstructure of the coating is a lamellarstructure, which can consist of individual particles of complexcomposition. The coating has a reduced volume fraction of free metalwith the remainder consisting of reaction products. When the gases thatare added to the flux stream are chosen to form reaction products havinga higher electrical resistivity than the starting metallic material,then the resulting coating exhibits a bulk resistivity that is higherthan the free metallic component. The concentration of reaction product,and thus the resistivity of the coating layer, can be controlled, atleast in part, by controlling the concentration of the reaction gas.

In certain embodiments, the resistivity of the heater coating can befurther enhanced by selecting a feed stock for a thermal spray processthat includes at least one electrically conductive component and atleast one electrically insulating component, and where at least onecomponent of the feed stock comprises a metallic component that reactswith a reactant gas during the thermal spray process to produce areaction product having a higher resistivity than the free metalliccomponent. For example, in one preferred embodiment of the invention,the feed stock for the thermally sprayed heater layer comprises a flatmetal ribbon that is formed into a wire that surrounds a core of aninsulating material. The insulating material can be a powder, such as apowdered ceramic. In one embodiment, a flat metal ribbon is formed intoa wire over an insulating powder of aluminum oxide. This “cored” wire isthen thermally sprayed, preferably using a twin arc wire system, in thepresence of a reaction gas, to produce a coating on a suitablesubstrate. The resulting thermally sprayed coating is characterized bysubstantially increased resistivity relative to aluminum alone, as aresult of both the ceramic aluminum oxide powder in the feed material,as well as the electrically insulative reaction product (e.g., aluminumoxide) formed by the reaction of the molten aluminum metal and thereaction gas (e.g., oxygen). Thus, a cored wire feed stock of aluminummetal and aluminum oxide ceramic provides the benefit of theextraordinary sticking power of aluminum and the high-resistivity of alarge volume fraction of aluminum oxide where normally aluminum, evenwith an oxidized component, typically has a low resitivity.

Turning now to FIG. 2A, an exemplary embodiment of an electricresistance heater 200 of the present invention is illustrated. Theheater 200 includes a substrate 210, which can be an engineeringmaterial, such as a steel plate, that can comprise, for example, a wallof a housing or duct in which a gas can flow. The surface of thesubstrate 210 can be roughened, by grit blasting for example, to promotebetter adhesion of the coating layer(s). When the substrate is a metalor other electrical conductor, it is necessary to deposit anelectrically insulating layer 220, such as a polymer or ceramic, overthe substrate 210 to insulate the substrate 220 from the resistanceheater layer. The insulating layer 220 can comprise any suitableinsulating material (e.g., aluminum oxide, zirconium oxide, magnesiumoxide, etc.), and can be applied by any suitable method. The insulatinglayer 220 can be deposited by a thermal spray process, such as theprocesses described above. Next, a resistive heater coating layer 230 isapplied by a thermal spray process, as described above. Electricalcontact pads 231, 233 are provided in contact with the heater layer 230in order to connect a voltage across the heater layer 230 and generateheat resistively. The heater layer 230 can be connected to a powersource by any suitable method, such as brazing connectors, solderingwires, or by physical contact using various mechanical connectors.

It is frequently necessary to cover the heater layer 230 to protectusers from electric shock and/or protect the heater from environmentaleffects such as moisture. This can be done by overcoating the heaterlayer 230 with another insulating layer 240 of a ceramic or polymer,such as aluminum oxide, or by encapsulation of the heater in anenclosure.

It will be understood that numerous variations of the above-describedheater 200 can be made consistent with the particular application. Forinstance, additional layers and coatings can be provided for variouspurposes, including, without limitation, an adhesion or bond layer onthe substrate, layers for improved thermal matching between layers withdifferent coefficients of thermal expansion, and one or more layers topromote or inhibit heat transfer, such as a thermally emissive layer, athermally reflective layer, a thermally conductive layer, and athermally insulative layer. It will also be understood that a resistiveheater layer 230 may be deposited directly onto a non-conductivesubstrate without an electrically insulating layer 220.

A heater 200 such as described above in connection with FIG. 2A can haveany desired shape. In a preferred embodiment of a heating element for agas heater, the heater 200 comprises a panel heater that can form, or behoused within or mounted adjacent to, a wall of a duct or housing inwhich a gas can flow. An example of a flat panel heater 200 isillustrated in FIG. 2B. Such a design is advantageous and candramatically improve heater performance in several key aspects since theheater 220 distributes its heat uniformly over a surface rather thanconcentrating it along a wire. As can be seen in FIG. 2B, the resistiveheater layer 220 comprises a defined circuit pattern on the substrate210, separated by insulated regions 250. The circuit pattern can bedefined during the thermal spray process using a removable patternedmask. The circuit pattern could also be formed after the heater layer220 is coated on the substrate, such as by scribing the pattern with alaser or a cutter.

Thermal spray methods can be adapted for the deposition of manymaterials that melt congruently, i.e., any material that doesn'tdecompose or sublimate. Furthermore, thermal spray is capable ofdepositing coatings on many different substrates provided they aresuitably prepared before deposition. Preparation usually involvesroughening the substrate because the coating bond strength isproportional to the degree of roughness of the substrate as theprinciple mechanism of bonding in thermal spray is a mechanicalinterlock of coating and substrate. Substrates can be metals, ceramics,polymers, or glasses. In certain embodiments, a mica material is used asa substrate. The mica can be fabricated with a porous surface withoutroughening to improve thermal coating adhesion. Additionally, materialshaving a higher thermal expansion coefficient and/or a higher thermalconductivity can be added to the mica material during substratefabrication to improve the thermal matching of the heater element andthe underlying substrate.

Mica is a naturally occurring mineral found in two forms, muscovite andphlogopite. For industrial use, the raw material is pulverized andblended with a binder, then subjected to simultaneous pressure andtemperature to form a dense, stable material. The surface of thefinished product is typically smooth and free from porosity. Themicrostructure is typically crystallites with plate-like morphology thathave poor intercrystalline bonds.

Mica is a desirable substrate for heater coatings for certainapplications. The material has very high dielectric strength, so adielectric layer need not be deposited first before the heater layer asin the case of metal substrates. It is inexpensive, which makes itsuitable for low cost, high volume applications such as gas heaters,cooking appliances (e.g., ovens, toasters, cooktops), and otherappliances (e.g., clothes dryers). It can be formed into sheets that areeasily cut but have acceptable mechanical strength; and it is refractoryenough to withstand maximum temperatures as high as 1200° C.

One deficiency with mica as a substrate for heater coatings is lowthermal expansion. The bulk thermal expansion of mica is typically lowerthan most metallic based heater coatings. Therefore, when the structureheats up, a stress state builds at the substrate-coating interface dueto thermoelastic stresses. These stresses can cause bending of thesubstrate or even delamination of the coating.

A second problem with mica is that it is difficult to prepare usingconventional methods for thermal spray coatings. That is, mica isdifficult to roughen using mechanical means such as grit blasting orthrough the use of an abrading tool. That is because of its crystallinemicrostructure which does not undergo plastic deformation like a metalnor does it manifest simple grain pull-out like many ceramics. Rather,the mica tends to flake and disintegrate when roughened as well asdevelop micro fractures below the remaining surface.

A third problem with mica is that it has extremely low thermalconductivity. Thus, when a high temperature heater coating is depositedon it, the thermal energy generated in the heater does not flow easilyto uncoated areas as in a metal. Rather, large temperature gradients areset up that induce commensurately large thermal expansion gradients.These gradients create stresses which can exceed the fracture strengthof the mica and cause cracking.

To address the problems associated with mica, certain embodiments of thepresent invention utilize the insertion of an electrical insulator, suchas aluminum nitride into a mica powder during fabrication. The insulatorcan be selected to have a higher thermal conductivity than pure mica tothereby increase the resulting bulk thermal conductivity of thesubstrate. In another preferred embodiment, a high temperatureelectrical insulator such as zirconium oxide, aluminum oxide and/ormagnesium oxide or a silicate possessing a higher thermal expansioncoefficient relative to pure mica can be used to improve the thermalmatching properties of the layered heater structure. A plurality of micalayers formal using this process can be used to form a laminatesubstrate and heater composite.

Additionally, the mica surface can be fabricated with a more poroussurface to increase mechanical adhesion of the thermally sprayed coatingto the mica surface. In particular, the mica, or other substratematerial, can be made with a powder in which the particle size andbinder volume are adjusted to roughen the surface by increasing thenumber and/or size of pores at the surface such that mechanicalroughening is not necessary.

Finally, it is difficult to apply a coating to a heater deposited onmica that needs to operate at high temperatures. Such overcoats areoften necessary to ensure electrical safety or to protect the heaterfrom environmental attack At low temperatures, there are variouspolymeric and silicone materials that can be over laid, however aboveabout 300° C., silicates or other ceramic materials can be used.

Turning now to FIGS. 3A and 3B, a duct gas heater 300 with heatingpanels 310, 311 is shown in accordance with one embodiment of theinvention. The panels 310 and 311 can comprise heater panels having athermally-sprayed resistive heater layer formed on a suitable substrate,such as described above in connection with FIGS. 2A and 2B. The duct gasheater 300 includes walls 313, 314, 315, 316 defining an enclosurethrough which a gas can flow. The gas can be forced through theenclosure by a blower or fan in fluid communication with the duct gasheater 300. In this embodiment, two heater panels 310 and 311 are showninserted in the gas stream. However, it will be understood that anynumber of panels can be employed. Also, although the duct heater 300shown here includes a rectangular cross-section, other configurationsare possible. For example, a circular gas duct can include internalheater panels.

In the duct gas heater 300 of FIGS. 3A and 3B, the panels 310 and 311are connected to a power source such that when the panels are energized,the resistive heater layer generates heat. The panels 310 and 311 arepreferably provided at an angle with respect to the direction of gasflow to help improve the transfer of heat to the flowing gas stream. Theangled panels 310 and 311 promote turbulent flow of the gas stream atthe interface of the gas stream and the heater panels. This turbulentflow improves thermal coupling between the heater panel and the gasstream. The heat transfer can be predominantly convective heat transfer,over a relatively large contact area. Furthermore, the gas flow over thepanels 310, 311 helps cool the panels, so that the panels lose less heatthrough radiation.

It will be understood that various other configurations are possible ina duct gas heater 300 of the invention. For example, heater panels canbe provided on the walls 313, 314, 315, 316, or can even form one ormore walls of the enclosure. Furthermore, various structures can beprovided to promote turbulent flow of the gas stream, such as vanesinside the duct to direct the gas at an angle with respect to heatingsurfaces. Other mechanisms for promoting turbulent flow and increasingheat transfer include, for example, increasing the surface roughness ofthe heat transfer surfaces, as well as adding corrugations or otherasperities to the heat transfer surfaces within the duct.

In certain embodiments, a duct gas heater 300 of the invention can beused to deliver heated gas (e.g., air) to a room or a building. Anadvantage of this system is that each individual heater panel can beindividually controlled to control the heat provided to a particularroom or area. Furthermore, because of the large area of heat transfer,the turbulent flow of the heat transfer media (e.g., air), and thepredominantly convective heat transfer provided by the present heater,heat can be provided at relatively low power, as compared to, forexample, a wire heating element.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a hot gas blower 400 having a fan 410 with a heatercoating 413 formed on the housing 411 that encloses the fan. The heatercoating 413 comprises a resistive heater layer that is preferably formedby a thermal spray process. The heater coating 413 can be thermallysprayed directly onto the housing 411. An advantage of employing athermal-spray process is that the heater coating can easily conform tothe shape and contour of the housing 411, which in this embodiment is acurved housing that partially surrounds the outer circumference of thefan blades. Where the housing 411 is made from an electricallyconductive material, the heater layer can be deposited on anintermediate insulating layer to prevent electrical shorts. Theintermediate layer can comprise an insulating material that can also bedeposited by thermal spray. The heater coating 413 can be patterned intoa circuit 415 separated by insulating regions 417. Electrical connectors418, 419 are connected to the circuit 415 to energize the heater coating413 and generate heat. One or more additional layers can optionally beprovided over the heater coating 413 to provide, for example, thermalinsulation, environmental protection and/or safety.

In operation, a gas, such as air, is drawn radially into the blowerhousing 411 by the operation of fan 410, and the moving fan blades forcethe gas at relatively high velocity into contact with the interior wallof the housing 411. The wall of the housing 411 is directly heated byheater coating 413, and transfers heat energy to the gas stream. Thedesign of the blower and the forces generated by the operation of thefan promote a highly turbulent gas flow, which facilitates heat transferto the gas stream. The blower 400 advantageously provides a largesurface area of thermal contact between the heating surface and the gas,and the gas predominantly flows at an angle with respect to the (curved)housing 411, thus increasing turbulence and promoting efficientconvective heat transfer to the gas. As the gas moves circumferentiallyaround the interior of blower housing 411 (in a counterclockwisedirection in FIG. 4B), the gas continues to absorb heat energy, and theheated gas is eventually forced out through outlet duct 420. The heatedgas can then be employed for any suitable purpose, such as, for example,heating a room, cooking food, or drying clothes.

The circuit pattern 415 of the heater coating layer 413 can be formed toprovide uniform heat, or in some embodiments, non-uniform heat to thegas. For example, the geometry of the resistive circuit 415 can beconfigured to provide more power, and therefore more heat transfer, atthe cooler gas inlet side of the blower 400, and less power and heattowards the outlet duct 420.

A further embodiment of a hot gas blower 500 is illustrated in FIG. 5A.This embodiment is similar to the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B, andincludes a fan 510 at least partially enclosed in a housing 511. Gas isdrawn into the blower 500 at the bottom of the housing 511, and exitsvia outlet duct 520. In this embodiment, a heater coating 513 isprovided on a surface of the outlet duct 520, downstream of the fan 510.The heater coating 513 preferably comprises a resistive heating layerformed by thermal spray, and can be sprayed directly onto the surface ofthe duct 520. Alternatively, the coating can be thermally sprayed onto aseparate substrate to provide a heater panel 521, such as described inconnection with FIGS. 2A and 2B, that is attached to the duct 520. Theheater panel 521 can comprise a non-conductive substrate, such as mica,or a metallic material. A thermally conductive gasket can be providedbetween the heater panel 521 and the duct 520.

The blower embodiment of FIG. 5A will generally provide less turbulentgas flow compared to the embodiment of FIGS. 4A and 4B, since the heatercoating is provided on the outlet duct and is oriented generallyparallel to the direction of gas flow. One method to improve heattransfer in the blower 500 is to provide vanes 523 inside the outletduct 520. The vanes 523 can increase the surface area available for heattransfer, and depending on their configuration, can increase the degreeof turbulent flow within the blower.

FIG. 5A illustrates vanes 523 extending vertically within duct 520. Analternative configuration shown in FIG. 5B includes vanes 523 extendingin both horizontal and vertical directions. The vanes 523 are preferablymade from a material that is a good thermal conductor, so that heat fromheater panel 521 is conducted along the vanes 523 into the interior ofthe duct where it can be imparted to the passing flow of gas.

The heater panel 521 can include one or more protective overcoat layers525 over the heater coating 513, as shown in FIG. 5B. The overcoat canprovide thermal insulation, protection from the environment and/orsafety.

It will be understood that heater coatings can be provided on anysurface of the gas blower 500. For example, a blower can include aheater coating on the fan housing as shown in FIGS. 4A and 4B, as wellas on the outlet duct as shown in FIGS. 5A and 5B. Furthermore, althoughFIGS. 5A and 5B show a heater coating on the top surface of the outletduct, heater coatings could be provided on any internal or externalsurface of the duct, and can be provided on multiple surfaces of theduct. Coatings could also be provided on vanes, or on components of thefan, such as the fan blades. Surface roughening, corrugations orasperities can be provided to any surface of the blower in order topromote turbulent gas flow.

Yet another embodiment of a hot gas blower 600 is shown in FIGS. 6A and6B. This embodiment is similar to the blowers of FIGS. 4A, 4B, 5A and5B, but includes a perforated substrate 630 positioned in the outlet airstream. The perforated substrate 630 includes a heater coating 613provided on the substrate. The heater coating preferably comprises aresistive heating layer formed by thermal spray. The resistive heatinglayer can be thermally sprayed directly onto the surface of thesubstrate 630 (which can be perforated either prior to or after theheating layer is deposited). Where the substrate 630 comprises anelectrically conductive material, an intermediate insulating layer canbe provided between the heating layer and the substrate. In theembodiment of FIGS. 6A and 6B, the resistive heating layer forms acontiguous circuit trace 615 that winds across the surface of thesubstrate 630.

The perforated substrate 630 preferably comprises a thermally conductivematerial, and can comprise a metal. In certain embodiments, the heatercoating 613 can be deposited on a substrate 630 that comprises a screenmaterial, such as porcelainized steel.

The perforated substrate 630 is provided in the interior of the outletduct 620, and can be oriented generally perpendicular to direction ofgas flow. This configuration promotes turbulent gas flow and moreefficient heat transfer. The perforated substrate 630 could also beprovided at an angle with respect to the direction of gas flow. Incertain embodiments, the blower 600 can include multiple substrates 630,each having a heater coating 613, provided in series within the outletduct 620. The perforations in each substrate 630 can be offset from theperforations in adjacent substrate(s) to promote increased turbulence.Surface roughening, corrugations or asperities can be provided to anysurface of the blower along the gas flow path to promote additionalturbulent flow.

FIGS. 7A and 7B illustrate a further embodiment of a hot gas blower 700according to the invention. This embodiment is similar to the embodimentshown in FIGS. 4A and 4B. However, in the embodiment of FIGS. 7A and 7B,the blower 700 is of the type in which gas enters the blower housing 711axially, and is then drawn into the fan 710 radially. In thisembodiment, the heater coating 713 can be provided over substantiallythe entire circumference of the blower housing 711, resulting in a largesurface area for heat transfer. Moreover, this embodiment provides agenerally turbulent gas flow to promote efficient convective heattransfer.

Yet another alternative is illustrated in FIGS. 8A and 8B. In thisembodiment, a hot air blower 800 includes an axial gas inlet 831, and atubular gas outlet duct 833. The outlet duct 833 includes a vane 834having a heater coating 813 provided on the vane 834. As in the previousembodiments, the heater coating 813 comprises a resistive heater layerthat is preferably deposited by thermal spray. In FIGS. 8A and 8B, thevane 834 is shown outside the outlet duct 833 to better illustrate thevane, though in operation the vane is provided inside duct 833 and theheater coating 813 is connected to a power source to provide resistiveheating. Vane 834 includes a helical configuration, and the resistiveheating layer can be thermally sprayed directly onto the surface of thehelical vane (using, for example, a lathe or similar apparatus to turnthe vane while the coating is thermally sprayed onto the vane). Thehelical vane 834 promotes a highly turbulent gas flow for efficient heattransfer. In an alternative configuration, the vane 836 can includestraight surfaces extending along the axis of the tubular duct, withheater coatings provided on one or more surfaces of the vane 836.

FIG. 9 illustrates a convection oven 60 having heater coating elementsin accordance with the invention. Convection ovens using heater coatingscan demonstrate very fast heat-up rates because of efficient heattransfer to air. In the convection oven of FIG. 9, the oven includes oneor more heater panels 61 located on or adjacent to the oven wall(s), andin thermal communication with the oven cavity 40. The heater panels 61can be identical to the panels described above in connection with FIGS.2A and 2B, and can provide a component of radiant heat to an objectwithin the oven cavity 40. In this embodiment, heater panels 61 aremounted on the exterior surface of both the top 42 and bottom 43 wallsof the oven. It will be understood that heater panels 61 can be locatedon additional surfaces, on both the outside and inside walls of the ovencavity. In addition, the convection oven 60 includes an air circulationsystem to provide a conductive heating component. In this embodiment theair circulation system comprises a blower 63 that is mounted behind therear wall 44 of the oven. The blower 63 produces an air stream that isdirected into the oven cavity 40 via vent apertures 65 in the rear wall44 of the oven. Air that is forced by the blower 63 passes over thesurfaces heated by heater panels 61 and therefore picks up heat fortransfer to an object (such as a food substance) located in the ovencavity 40. Heat transfer to the circulating air is enhanced due to thelarge area of the heater panels 61. This is in contrast to aconventional convection oven that typically has only a small fraction ofair passing over a conventional heating element (such as a Cal-rodheating element).

If heater coatings are inserted into the oven cavity on separate panels,such as the suspended panel 51 illustrated in FIG. 9, air that is forcedover the panel 51 will receive a larger amount of heat more quickly thana conventional Cal-rod style oven because of the larger surface areaover which the heater 51 is disposed.

Other advantages of the present convection oven include enlargement ofthe usable space in the oven cavity because of the absence ofconventional heating elements, less assembly time, rapid heat-up andhigh efficiency.

Panels 61 containing heater coatings can be placed anywhere in the airstream, preferably where a large proportion of the flowing air flowsover either the panels themselves, or else over surfaces heated by thepanels, for efficient heat transfer to the circulating air. The panels61 or heating surface(s) can be modified with features such as ripplesor asperities to induce turbulence at the surface for improved heattransfer. Vanes or apertures can also be provided to purposely directthe airflow over heated surfaces in the oven cavity. In addition, heattransfer can be enhanced by arranging air flow so that the air stream isnot parallel to the heat transfer surface, but is perpendicular or at anangle relative to the heated surface. This induces turbulence, henceimproved heat transfer, when the air is forced to change direction atthe heated surface.

As shown in FIG. 10, heater coatings 71 can be incorporated into theblower 63 itself to improve heat transfer to the circulating convectionair. In this embodiment, essentially all the air that is forced by theblower passes over the heater coating 71 and therefore picks up heat fortransfer to the oven cavity 40. The heater coatings 71 comprise aresistive heating layer that can be thermally-sprayed onto the blowerhousing 73, and patterned to provide a resistive heating circuit when avoltage is provided across electrodes 74, 75. The heater coatings 71 canbe applied to any surface on or within the blower 63. A motorized fan 76forces air to flow proximate the heater coating 71, where the air isheated, and then into the oven via an air duct 71.

FIG. 11 is a schematic illustration of a clothes dryer 850 having athermally sprayed heater for providing a hot gas stream. The dryer 850includes a housing 851. Inside the housing 851 is a rotatable drum 853that tumbles clothing while hot air passes through the drum 853. A door854 is located on the front of the housing 851 for accessing theinterior of the drum 853. Controls 855 control the operation of thedryer 850. When the dryer 850 is operating, a fan 860 or other motiveapparatus is operated to draw ambient gas into the dryer housing 851. Inthis embodiment, the gas enters the housing 851 through vent holes 857in the rear of the dryer. The gas is then forced to pass over heatingelements 859, which in this embodiment comprise one or more thermallysprayed heaters. The thermally sprayed heaters 859 transfer heat to thegas, preferably primarily by convection with minimal radiant heat loss.The heated gas can then enter the drum 853 through openings in the rearwall of the drum. The hot gas flows over the tumbling clothes in thedrum, picking up moisture, before exiting the drum 853 and housing 851through vent 861.

FIG. 12 is a schematic illustration of a baseboard room heating system900 according to yet another aspect of the invention. A baseboard roomheater 900 is generally installed on or near the floor 901 of a room,and typically against a wall 902 in an unobstructed place. This type ofheating system relies on the natural convention of heated air todistribute heat. The heating system 900 of FIG. 12 includes a housing910 having a lower opening 904 for admitting a gas flow 911 and an upperopening 906 through which heated gas 913 exits into the room. Thehousing 910 is partially cut away to illustrate a thermally sprayedheater 913, which can be provided in the housing in any suitableconfiguration. The gas 911 is drawn into the opening 904 by naturalconvection forces, where the heater 913 transfers heat to the gas. Thewarmed gas then exits through the upper opening 906 by naturalconvection, and spreads through the room, providing heat. The thermallysprayed heaters of the present invention are particularly advantageousfor use in a baseboard heater since they are characterized by lowradiant heat loss, so that they will not overheat or bum the surroundingstructures (such as humans, pets or dust and dirt in the room).Furthermore, because of the high degree of convective heat transfer,they can provide the required heat at low power compared to conventionalwire-type heating elements, and are thus cheaper and more efficient.

Examples of resistive heater coating layers and methods for thefabrication of heating elements, and various applications for heatercoating layers, are described in commonly-owned U.S. Pat. Nos.6,762,396, 6,919,543, and 6,294,468, and in commonly-owned U.S.Published Patent Applications Nos. 2005/0252906 A1 and 2006/0288998 A1.The entire teachings of the above-referenced patents and publishedpatent applications are incorporated herein by reference.

Although various embodiments of gas heaters are described in connectionwith resistive heating layers formed by thermal spray, it will beunderstood that gas heaters of the type described herein can includevarious types of electrical resistive heaters, including, for example,resistive heaters deposited as coatings using sputtering, sol-gel, ionimplantation, evaporation, chemical vapor deposition and various thickfilm technologies such as screen printing and dispensing. Otherresistive heaters that cover a surface, such as thin foils and flexibleheaters, are also applicable to the gas heaters described herein.

While the invention has been described in connection with specificmethods and apparatus, those skilled in the art will recognize otherequivalents to the specific embodiments herein. It is to be understoodthat the description is by way of example and not as a limitation to thescope of the invention and these equivalents are intended to beencompassed by the claims set forth below.

1. A room heater, comprising: a housing having an lower opening at thebottom of the housing forming an inlet to admit a gas into the housingand an upper opening positioned above the lower opening forming anoutlet through which the gas exits the housing; and a thermally sprayedheater that provides heat to the gas inside the housing.
 2. The roomheater of claim 1, wherein the heater comprises a baseboard heater. 3.The room heater of claim 1, wherein the thermally sprayed heatercomprises a resistive heating layer having a substantially lamellarstructure.
 4. The room heater of claim 1, wherein the resistive heatinglayer comprises a first material and a second material, wherein thefirst material is an electrically conducting material and the secondmaterial is an electrically insulating material.
 5. The room heater ofclaim 3, further comprising a support substrate, the heating layer beingprovided on the support substrate.
 6. The room heater of claim 5,wherein the support substrate comprises a surface of the housing.
 7. Theroom heater of claim 5, wherein the support substrate comprises aseparate substrate that is bonded to a surface of the apparatus.
 8. Theroom heater of claim 5, further comprising an insulating layer, theinsulating layer being provided on the support substrate and the heatinglayer being provided over the insulating layer.
 9. The room heater ofclaim 8, wherein the insulating layer comprises a thermally-sprayedlayer comprising a substantially lamellar structure.
 10. The room heaterof claim 9, wherein the support substrate comprises an electricallyinsulating material, and the heating layer is provided in contact withthe support substrate.
 11. The room heater of claim 5, wherein thesupport substrate comprises a mica material.
 12. The room heater ofclaim 11, wherein the mica material comprises a mixture of mica with anelectrically insulating material, the mixture having a higher thermalcoefficient of expansion than pure mica.
 13. The room heater of claim 5,wherein the support substrate comprises a polymer.
 14. The room heaterof claim 5, further comprising a protective layer, the protective layerbeing provided over the heating layer and the support substrate.
 15. Theroom heater of claim 14, wherein the protective layer comprises aninsulating material.
 16. The room heater of claim 3, wherein theresistive heating layer is patterned to provide an electrical circuit,and at least two electrical connectors are in electrical contact withthe resistive heating layer to provide a voltage across the circuit. 17.The room heater of claim 4, wherein the content of the electricallyinsulating material in the resistive heating layer comprises at leastabout 40% by volume.
 18. The room heater of claim 4, wherein the contentof the electrically insulating material in the resistive heating layercomprises between about 40-80% by volume.
 19. The room heater of claim4, wherein the electrically conductive material comprises a metallicmaterial.
 20. The room heater of claim 19, wherein the metallic materialcomprises at least one of titanium (Ti), vanadium (V), cobalt (Co),nickel (Ni), magnesium (Mg), zirconium (Zr), hafnium (Ti), aluminum(Al), tungsten (W), molybdenum (Mo), tantalum (Ta); silicon (Si), ametal alloy, a metal composite, and a metalloid.
 21. The room heater ofclaim 20, wherein the electrically conductive material comprisesaluminum.
 22. The room heater of claim 21, wherein the electricallyinsulating material comprises a reaction product of the metallicmaterial.
 23. The room heater of claim 22, wherein the reaction productcomprises at least one of an oxide, a nitride, a carbide and a boride.24. The room heater of claim 23, wherein the electrically insulatingmaterial comprises aluminum oxide.
 25. The room heater of claim 19,wherein the electrically insulating material comprises athermally-sprayed insulating material and a reaction product of theelectrically conducting material.
 26. The room heater of claim 1,wherein the thickness of the thermally sprayed heater is less than about0.030 inches.
 27. The room heater of claim 1, wherein the thermallysprayed heater is characterized by a material resistivity of greaterthan about 10⁻⁴ Ω-cm.
 28. A method of fabricating a room heater,comprising: providing a housing having an lower opening at the bottom ofthe housing forming an inlet to admit a gas into the housing and anupper opening positioned above the lower opening forming an outletthrough which the gas exits the housing thermally spraying a material toform a resistive heating layer; positioning the resistive heating layerwithin the housing for heating the gas flowing in the housing.
 29. Themethod of fabricating a room heater of claim 28, wherein the resistiveheating layer is thermally sprayed by at least one of an arc wire, flamespray, high-velocity oxy-fuel, arc plasma, and kinetic spray process.30. The method of fabricating a room heater of claim 28, furthercomprising providing a feedstock material comprising a metallic materialand a reaction gas, and thermally spraying the metallic material in thepresence of the reaction gas, the metallic material reacting with thereaction gas to produce a reaction product, the reaction productcomprising an insulator.
 31. The method of fabricating a room heater ofclaim 30, wherein the feedstock material comprises a metallic materialhaving a core and an insulator within the core, the metallic materialand the insulator being thermally sprayed to form the resistive heatinglayer.
 32. The method of fabricating a room heater of claim 28, furthercomprising providing an insulating material and forming the resistiveheating layer over the insulating material.